Geometrical structure of carbon ion (C3

Results of Coulomb explosion experiments are presented which provide the first experimental evidence for the geometrical structure of the small carbon cluster ion C/sub 3//sup +/. These results indicate that the ground state of this molecule forms a bent structure. For comparison, measurements were also made of the carbon geometries within the molecules C/sub 3/H/sub 3//sup +/ and C/sub 3/H/sub 4//sup +/. The former is found to form a predominantly cyclic structure while the latter exhibits a linear geometry in agreement with suggestions of previous experimental and theoretical results.